An odd place for political revolution

Of all the places for a political revolt against the supposedly socialist, over-reaching federal government, Mississippi might be the oddest.

The volatile race there for a Republican U.S. Senate nomination, won Tuesday by longtime incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran, highlighted an irony of national politics. Many traditionally conservative “red” states regularly receive more money from Washington than “blue” traditionally liberal states.

Of the 32 states that receive more federal funds than they send to Washington in taxes, 28 are “red” states. Of the 18 states that get less back from Washington than they send, 14 are “blue” states.

Reliably red Mississippi (2012 — Mitt Romney, 55 percent), the poorest state, is at the top of the list. It receives $3.07 for every federal tax dollar it sends east.

Yet Chris McDaniel, the fire-breathing tea partyer who challenged the deeply conservative Cochran as being too liberal for Mississippi, contended that the state would get by just fine without the abundant cash that Cochran helps to send home.

Cochran held his nose and asked Democrats to vote for him in the open primary and many of them held their noses and complied, contributing significantly to his narrow victory.

Mississippians initially might have viewed the race as McDaniel v. Cochran, but in the end they recognized it as rhetoric v. reality.

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